[HDNG]THE CITY:[EHDNG][PARA][GRPH]E3[EGRPH][STAT][BULL] Price of a pint of beer: ú1.40 [BULL] Glass of wine: ú1.30[ESTAT][PARA][BOLD]Cinemas:[EBOLD] (2) MGM, which shows mainstream movies, and The [PARA]Arts Cinema, which, surprisingly enough, is more arty.[PARA][BOLD]Pubs:[EBOLD] [ITAL]Cambridge has many good pubs, despite the fact they're [PARA]pretty expensive (the prices above are the cheapest, on average [PARA]a pint of bitter is is over ú1.50). The pubs along the riverside are [PARA]most popular amongst students. [EITAL][PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL] would just like to plug the [PARA]places where we've thrown up riotously on the floor: The [PARA]Cambridge Blue; Cow and Calf (relaxing); Anchor (riverside pub [PARA]with great grub); Mill (riverside, a range of ales); The Eagle; Blue [PARA]Boar (trendy); Pickerel; Mitre (busy); Baron of Beef (good [PARA]boozer); Bath (central) and many more. [EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Clubs/discos:[EBOLD] (4) [ITAL]Considering a local student population of [PARA]something over 20,000, Cambridge is poorly equipped in this field [PARA]and much of the time, students stick to their college bops for their[PARA]funky fun. [EITAL]Those who insist on seeking alternative amusement [PARA]have the following choice: Fifth Avenue ([ITAL]popular[EITAL] ú2.50 Tuesdays,[PARA]Big Holy Noise); Route 66 ([ITAL]fun but seedy, [EITAL]ú2.50, indie and dance, [PARA]town/student mix); Junction ([ITAL]large and ugly, top DJs, ú4[EITAL]); and [PARA]Xenon ([ITAL]cosmopolitan but not so popular[EITAL]).[PARA][BOLD]Music venues:[EBOLD] The famous Corn Exchange has a capacity of [PARA]1,500 and is renowned as a musical haven (recently Primal [PARA]Scream, Wonder Stuff, Marillion [ITAL](zzzzz)[EITAL]). The Junction (cap [PARA]700) is a purpose-built venue [ITAL]with as much character as a [PARA]goldfish[EITAL], although it gets a few names in (recently Therapy?, [PARA]Madder Rose, Blue Aeroplanes). Boat Race and Man in the Moon[PARA]pubs good for folkies.[PARA][BOLD]Others: [EBOLD]Cambridge also offers a bit of busking and many [PARA]carefree capers by, on or in the river, such as puntin', hootin' and [PARA]fishin'.[HDNG]UNIVERSITY:[EHDNG][PARA][GRPH]E2[EGRPH][STAT][BULL] Price of a pint of beer: ú1.20 [BULL] Glass of wine: ú1[ESTAT][PARA][BOLD]Bars: [EBOLD]Each college has at least 1 bar, often shamefully cheap, [PARA]although some don't allow anyone but college members and their [PARA]guests ([ITAL]but it's never too hard to crash[EITAL]). [ITAL]Usually the bar is the [PARA]gravitational centre of college life, which may explain the number [PARA]of people lying on the floors (physics joke).[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Theatres: [EBOLD]Drama is all over the place in Cambridge. The [ITAL]slightly [PARA]pokey[EITAL] ADC (cap 250) is run professionally for student [PARA]productions and aims at a wider audience than simply students. [PARA]It's got good facilities such as its own lights, bar, club room and [PARA]workshop. At ADC, along with Fitzpatrick Hall (in Queen's [PARA]College) and the Robinson Theatre, a handsome number of [PARA]pretty big shows are performed each term of an extremely [PARA]variable standard ([ITAL]some very high highs, but some lamentably [PARA]low lows[EITAL]). Also, at an enormous proliferation of other smaller [PARA]venues throughout the University, including The Cambridge [PARA]Playroom and about 4 others, more experimental productions [PARA]continue virtually non-stop all year.[PARA][BOLD]Cinemas:[EBOLD] Most colleges have their own film club, which usually [PARA]amounts to rented videos in the JCR, although some are more [PARA]professional (especially at St John's, Queens, Peterhouse and [PARA]the Cambridge Union Society). Being run by students, these, of [PARA]course, show just about anything students might want to see [ITAL]and[PARA]often just what the projectionist wants to see. (Ooh, crikey, The [PARA]Blues Brothers again).[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Clubs/discos:[EBOLD] The biggest regular club night is the weekly Big [PARA]Holy Noise held at Fifth Avenue (800) run by CUSU (and often [PARA]attended by [ULNE]Anglia Poly University[EULNE] students) but students can [PARA]usually rely on a rave 5 or 6 times every week by doing the [PARA]rounds of the college bops. [PUSH]push[EPUSH][ITAL]plug bops at Queen's Fitzpatrick[PARA]Hall, Clare College cellars, John's Boiler Room and Trinity Old [PARA]Kitchens.[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Cabaret:[EBOLD] The famous Cambridge Footlights Revue has given birth[PARA]to some of the world's funniest chuckle mongers. For example, [PARA]The Monty Python Team (John Cleese, Eric Idle, etc), Smith and[PARA]Jones, Fry and Laurie, John Sessions, Clives Anderson and [PARA]James, Emma Thompson, Tony Slattery and so on ad ridiculum.[PARA][ITAL]But the biggest joke in recent years has been that they [PARA]performed as if, because they have such a great reputation, they [PARA]don't actually need to be funny any more. The sad thing is it's [PARA]true - one untalented crop went straight onto the BBC's 'Going [PARA]Live' to embarrass themselves, their mums, and the nation. [EITAL] [PARA]Cambridge Comedy is unkillable, though, as Baddiel and [PARA]Newman have shown, and the Footlights show goes on [ITAL](and on, [PARA]and on...)[EITAL][PARA][BOLD]Music venues:[EBOLD] The University Concert Hall (650) host mainly [PARA]classical concerts including the University's many orchestras, [PARA]choirs and chapel music groups. For more contemporary [PARA]sound-waves the one to watch is Queen's Fitzpatrick Hall (again) [PARA]with a capacity of 300.[PARA][BOLD]Balls:[EBOLD] [ITAL]No, not a rude exhortation, but wild parties in penguin suits [PARA]and ball frocks.[EITAL] Most colleges have one (or share one with [PARA]another college) and some are huge (such as Trinity College's). [PARA]The one thing they almost all have in common is a discussion [PARA]with the bank manager - a double ticket can cost in excess of [PARA]ú140. Some colleges have cheaper versions by cutting back the [PARA]thrills and frills. Most students end up deciding they're only young[PARA]once and only a student once and what the hell and go to at least [PARA]one ball a year anyway. For really top names in music and [PARA]cabaret, balls are the crunching ground since the organisers are [PARA]often willing to splash out on chart bands. The odd thing is the [PARA]balls are almost all in June and yet are called May Balls. [PARA]Answers on a postcard...[PARA][BOLD]Others:[EBOLD] Terribly civilised entertainments flourish, such as garden [PARA]parties and cocktail parties and cheese and wine parties and [PARA]possibly even Tupperware parties for all we know. Students [PARA]should remember to pack their cravats and Laura Ashley [PARA]dresses.[HDNG]EATING OUT:[EHDNG][PARA]During the day, livers in generally eat lunch in the college dining [PARA]halls, but there are also cafeterias and sandwich bars in some of [PARA]the departments and in the University Library. Apart from these, [PARA]students are to be found feeding in pubs, local sandwich shops [PARA]and tea rooms of which there are many. The secret is to avoid [PARA]the tourist snakes and seek out the student ladders. The local [PARA]fare fares well. There is a good selection of munch troughs to [PARA]suit all tastes, especially those who like pizza. Vegetarianism is [PARA]rife amongst students and most restaurants have adjusted their [PARA]menus to offer more than a cheese omelette. For quality cuisine,[PARA]there's French, Mexican, Indian, Chinese and so on, but prices [PARA]often mean students either have to go dutch when eating Italian or[PARA]take their parents, or their parents' cheque book. A case in point [PARA]is Browns who do excellent burgers and steaks and all that stuff.[PARA]Fast food joints squat on every corner cruelly luring the [PARA]weak-willed: kebabs, fish'n'chips, sandwiches, jacket potatoes ([ITAL][PARA]try Tatties[EITAL]) and Burger King. Macdonalds is finally open, [ITAL]to the [PARA]consternation of the right-on[EITAL]. One of the worst excesses of [PARA]student life is that doner feeling about 2am after serious partying [PARA]and then comes the automaton stumble for a kebab from [PARA]Gardenias, which is open until the small hours start getting bigger.
